


pando

by littlesaintmick



Series: Things To Think About Before Putting Bread In The Oven [4]
Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV), Professional Wrestling, World Wrestling Entertainment
Genre: M/M, god idk how to tag this it's just a bunch of guys being cute, i present to you ANOTHER Incredibly Niche AU, oh boy now THIS is a fuckin convergence of interests aint it, takes place in my old coldwave au verse where they have the kids and live on a farm
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-24
Updated: 2018-10-24
Packaged: 2019-08-06 20:26:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,357
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16394513
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littlesaintmick/pseuds/littlesaintmick
Summary: mick's cousin comes to visit, brings guests.





	pando

**Author's Note:**

> y'all...this au is something. it involves the character i got my name from (thank you, mr. rory), and my all-time favorite thing, wrestling. honestly, i'm surprised it took this long. and i'm really happy to be writing coldwave again. even with all that's happening with joe, this one is something i'm happy to be writing.

Mick watched as Len tidied the living room, in his easy pace that he always had when he cleaned. Len never rushed, or at least he’d stop himself when he did. Mick kept at folding the laundry, working to get it done before his cousin arrived. He knew he wouldn’t care if the house was messy or if there was laundry on the couch, but it would bug both Mick and Len. 

“How is this one related to you again?”

Len was wiping down dust from a very high shelf, having stepped on two of the lower shelves to reach it. Mick rolled his eyes and spotted the small stepladder in the corner, standing and coming up behind Len, wrapping his arms around his legs and holding him steady. 

It wasn’t  _ entirely _ an excuse to rest his head on Len’s ass. 

“His dad is like...my uncle’s cousin, or something. You know we don’t keep track of that shit.”

Len reached down and patted Mick’s bald head, and Mick nuzzled against the touch. 

“How long’s it been since you’ve seen him, if you know?”

Mick thought. It hadn’t been an especially long time, even given the age gap between him and Finn. They were only able to see Finn now because he had a little time off and the last show they were doing happened to be near Keystone, and he rarely had a lot of time off.

“Uh….maybe a year or so? He made it out for the last fourth of July party, remember?”

Len was quiet for a moment, and Mick nudged his butt with his head.

“I guess so, I remember him and those friends of his-Luke and Karl, right? The bald guys-them and the kids tried to climb the drains on the house, I thought Michael was gonna break his leg-”

Mick laughed at the memory, and lifted Len up, turning him in his arms and holding him. Len wrapped his legs around Mick’s waist and grinned, that pretty cat-grin that made Mick hold him a little tighter.

“Mm. Is Michael picking the rest of the kids up today?”

“Should be.”

Mick set Len down, quickly kissing him before nodding at the stepladder.

“You know the safer option is right there, right, kitten?” 

Len rolled his eyes and kissed Mick, licking at his lips and kissing the thick bridge of his nose. 

“Yeah, but then you wouldn’t have come over to keep me safe.”

Mick let his hands travel up and down Len’s back, down to his ass, squeezing him briefly and feeling Len’s soft chest pressed against his own.

“Sneaky kitty.”

Len smiled the trademark Snart Smile and Mick kissed him again, before Len’s back straightened.

“There’s a car coming.”

Mick couldn’t hear it, but he could feel it a bit, in the ground, and he was very much alerted by the dogs soon after. He walked to the front door, opening it and letting the dogs run loose-he knew they knew better than to get anywhere near the car, and they all happily bounced around the yard as the rental pulled up.

The car pulled to a stop near the other vehicles, and Mick made his way up to it and watched as Finn stepped out; Mick couldn’t keep the smile off his face, he never could really stop smiling when Finn was around. He had always had an energy around him, of positivity and love and light and that energy had, many times, been very healing for Mick to be around. 

“Mick!”

Finn ran up to him, jumping into his open arms, the both of them laughing as they hugged. Finn kissed Mick’s cheek and Mick set him down, still keeping him close. 

“I missed you so much!”

Mick grinned; he’d missed the deep Irish accent.

“I missed you too, kid.”

Mick helped Finn with his bags, the dogs running around at their feet, except for Tony, who very calmly walked alongside them all the way inside. Len greeted Finn warmly-he wouldn’t usually be so willing to hug anyone, except for Mick, Lisa, or anyone he’d given birth to/adopted, but Finn was a little irresistible, that energy once again pulling everyone around him in. Finn, thankfully-after all the years that he’d known Len-knew that he could really only handle so much physical affection, and he kept the hug brief. 

“How are you?”

Finn exhaled, that bright smile still on his face. 

“Tired. Lots of driving and flying in the past few weeks, and-ugh, I damn near broke my tailbone a while back-well, I didn’t almost break it, Baron did-”

Mick frowned.

“Did he do it on purpose?”

Finn’s smile faltered a little.

“I...I don’t know. But-I don’t wanna talk about that, I just got here and I don’t wanna think about the assholes I work with-”

“Speaking of assholes you work with, how are Karl and Luke?”

That got a genuine laugh out of Finn, and the sound made Mick feel lighter. They all moved into the living room, Mick taking a quick detour into the kitchen and grabbing water for the three of them. Finn was curled up on the couch already by the time he reached them, one of the cats sitting on his shoulder and two of the dogs trying to take up the most space on his lap. Mick sat in his recliner and Len sat on his lap, like always. 

“-and they really wanted to come back, but they’re on the other brand now, so we aren’t able to travel together as much.”

“Who are you driving with now, most times?”

Finn blushed, and Mick raised an eyebrow at that.

“Uh….m-my friend, Seth. He’s-yeah. He actually...he’s hanging out with his friends right now, but….could he maybe stay a bit here, too?”

Mick and Len looked at each other, and Mick shrugged. 

“As long as he follows the rules, I don’t see why not. You’ve always spoken highly of him, he sounds like a good guy. At least sounds like he might be fun to pick on.”

Mick poked Len in the side and all he got in return was that pretty, evil little grin again. 

“Be nice to Finn’s friends.”

“I’m always nice.”   
“You tried to get Karl and Luke to rob a museum with you.”

Len shot a very pointed look at Finn.

“And they would have done it, if you hadn’t gotten to them with your whole ‘don’t commit crimes’ shpiel. We wouldn’t have even stolen much.”

Mick shook his head as they bickered back and forth, Finn’s strong Irish accent and light voice contrasting with Len’s deeper, peculiar drawl. The two of them tended to bring out the worst sass in one another, and Mick ran his hand over Len’s thigh as he listened.

\---

“Come in.”

Finn poked his head through the door to Mick and Len’s bedroom. Mick was sitting on the bed, his reading glasses perched on his nose. Finn climbed onto the ridiculously huge bed, laying on his front next to his cousin. 

“I missed this place.”

And he did, truly. Finn rarely got to come out to the farm, given that Vince didn’t have them come to this area often, and Finn valued his time at his own home, too, but that made him treasure the time that he could spend here even more. It was a beautiful piece of land, acres upon acres with all sorts of animals, and of course, his beloved cousin. 

Some people he’d known had been utterly shocked to find out that he was related to a widely-known criminal and serial arsonist, but he never minded the shock. He loved his cousin-he didn’t even know if ‘cousin’ was the right word, but it was the easiest. Despite the decade age gap, they’d always been close; something about their personalities just clicked. Mick was a little-a lot, really-blunt and honest, and he was smart and clever, and those traits meshed well with Finn’s mind and how he worked. It only helped that there was never any judgement between them; they had far too much in common to really do that.

“It missed you.”

Finn rested his head on his forearms and smiled, closing his eyes. He felt a big, warm hand on his head, and relaxed even more. 

“How is work going, bud? You’re not pushing yourself too much, right?”

Finn sighed, still relaxed enough to answer and not worry about it. 

“A bit, maybe. ‘s hard not to. Or-hell, it would be, if I were getting any fucking work.”

“Yeah, I’ve noticed that. Want me to put the fear of G in your boss?”

Finn huffed out a quiet laugh. 

“I don’t think that’s possible. The man fears nothing but bankruptcy.”

“If it weren’t for all those people that’d lose jobs, I could make that happen, too.”

“I know you could. Thank you.”

Mick’s voice did not at all have the brogue that Finn’s did, but Finn was raised in Ireland, while Mick was raised in America, his particular family line removed enough to have lost it. It was still a deeply pleasant sound, though, with his slight accent and gravelly tone.

“It’s been alright, though. I’ve-I’ve had a good time with Seth. And I’m getting to work with one of my friends-Bayley, you’ve met her once?”

Finn peeked up at Mick, watching as he worked through trying to remember.

“Uh….she the chick with purple hair, or-that one fun blonde lady?”

“Nah, brunette, likes to hug.”

“Oh! Yeah, she was cool. Good, I know you guys are tight, that’ll be nice for you.”

Finn closed his eyes again and Mick kept petting his head very gently.

“Sounds like that Seth kid is nice for you, too.”

Finn blushed and hid his face, groaning quietly.

“Shut up.”

“Cannot believe you ain’t asked him out yet.”   
Finn pouted, sitting up and pulling a pillow away from the headboard, wrapping his arms around it. 

“Well, how am I-he’s my best friend, Mick, I can’t just-drop that on him-”

Mick shot him a look.

“Trust me. It wouldn’t be coming as a surprise.”

Finn pressed the bottom half of his face into the pillow. He did have to trust that, Mick was almost always right about people and their intentions and feelings. He had an unmatched intuition in that sense, and Finn sighed. 

“What if he says no?”

“Then you guys are best friends. Nothing bad or lesser about that. When’s he supposed to get here?”

“Eight or nine. He and Roman and Dean had to do this signing thing and it’s gonna run late.”

“Those two coming along?”

Finn blinked. He hadn’t thought about that, but he supposed it’d be nice to save his friends money on a hotel.

“Could they?”

“Sure. It’d be nice to finally meet them.”

Finn made a quiet, happy humming sound in his throat, pulling out his phone and texting Seth. He got a picture in return, of Seth, Roman, and Dean all making silly faces. Finn couldn’t help but giggle at it, his eyes focused mainly on Seth’s face. It was hard not to focus on him. 

“You know, me and Len were best friends like that before we got together.”

Finn smiled at his cousin. He did love the story of how Mick and Len got together, meeting in juvie, Mick saving Len, the two of them almost inseparable after that. Finn’s eyes flicked down to the scars covering Mick’s arms.

_ Almost _ inseparable. 

“I know...I just...worry that if I’m wrong, then-I lose that friendship, too, and-”

“I know the feeling, Finn. It’s okay to worry, but if he really is your best friend, even if he doesn’t feel that way about you, he’ll still wanna be in your life.”

Finn bit his lip, and Mick sighed, reaching up and pulling his glasses off, rubbing at his forehead. 

“C’mon. The kids’ll be getting home soon. You wanna help with dinner?”

Finn nodded. He adored cooking with Mick, and he was excited to see all the kids again-except, likely, Rada and Brighid, the two of them off at college still. 

\---

“Kitten, can you call the kids in? Gettin’ dark out, don’t want them running into snakes out there.”

“I got it.”

Mick loaded the dishwasher, listening as Finn sang along to the song playing on the speaker as he cleaned. Finn was so helpful, wherever he went. Mick wished his cousin thought more highly of himself. Four sets of footsteps came running into the kitchen, and Mick heard Finn laugh. 

“Hello again!”

“Finn, can you come watch videos with us?”

“And read us stories-”

“You’re the best at it!”

“Hey, I’m standin’ right here.”

Mick turned, leaning against the counter, as his second-youngest walked towards him, entirely silent on her feet as always. He hefted Opal up in his arms. 

“Listen, Finn just got here today, and we’ve got a whole week with him! Plus, he has friends coming over-”

“Really?”

“Who!!”

Finn laughed and lifted Adi up-which was always nice to see, Adi was so picky about who he bonded with-and looked at Enku and Tahmid. 

“My friends Seth and Dean and Roman, you all seen ‘em on tv, yeah?”

“The Shield guys?”

Finn nodded, and Adi tapped his chest excitedly.

“I know! I knew that’d make you happy, bud, I know you’re a big fan of them.”

Mick set Opal down and she, Enku, and Tahmid ran around again. The kids really did have too much energy sometimes. He took Adi from Finn, smiling at his son. 

“Are you excited, buddy?”

Adi held his hands up, extending his fingers a few times. One of the reasons Mick and Len had agreed to the other three men staying there with Finn was because at least some of their children were fans of them, even though they hadn’t met Roman, Dean, or Seth personally yet. Mick was mostly happy to take Finn’s word for it, knowing his cousin would never align himself with someone who’d hurt children, or anyone, really, though, what with all that he and Len had been through, they had to be wary. 

Mick himself was a little excited about meeting the three men. He was a bit of a fan himself. 

Enku and Tahmid came running back into the kitchen, sliding on the floor. 

“Can we ask ‘em to sign stuff?”

“Let’s see if they’re up for it, they’ve had a long day.”

Finn threw his arms around the kids’ shoulders and hugged them. 

“I’m sure they’d love to, at least for a bit. But do try to not mob them, please.”

Adi tapped Mick on the ears and made a rolling sign with his index fingers. 

“Looks like there’s a car coming. That’s probably them.”

Mick set Adi down, the kids going upstairs to grab various pieces of merchandise. Mick hoped these three were ready for the swarm. He followed Finn outside, a rental car parked next to Finn’s. Finn went to the car first, Mick keeping a few paces behind. It looked like Seth had been driving, Dean in the passenger seat and Roman in the back. They were all about as big, physically, as Mick had expected, and he smiled when Seth pulled Finn into a hug. 

God, that guy really was into him. 

“Mick, come over here, meet the guys-”

Mick walked up to Seth first, holding his hand out. The kid was handsome, Mick could see what Finn saw in him in that capacity. Big brown eyes, scruffy beard, nice grip. 

“Nice to meet you. I’m Seth Rollins, this is-”

Roman and Dean were seemingly tripping over each other to get over to them, and they seemed happy about it, being entangled with one another as they were. 

“Dean Ambrose and-”

“Roman Reigns.”

Mick shook both of their hands. They seemed nice already. 

“Y’all need help with your bags?”

“I think we got it, thank you.”

Roman seemed to be the most immediately polite of the three, which Mick liked. Good Southern boys were always nice to come across. He didn’t help with their things, but he did walk with them, laughing when they all stopped to pet the dogs that had come out to see the new people. Seth even got down on the ground to pet their newest puppy. 

“Oh-he’s so cute-you have so many dogs!”

“Dogs, horses, goats, cats, chickens, cows, there’s a turkey around here somewhere. Probably. Little bastard is clever.”

“So this is a proper farm?”

Mick looked to Roman, who was steadily petting their wolfhound. 

“Yeah. We don’t make profit off anything-me and Len can’t work fields much at this point, but we grow some small crops along with making things from the animals. Y’all can meet them tomorrow.”

“Cool.” 

Mick turned and led them into the house, noticing that Tony was sticking tight next to Dean’s leg. He wondered about that. Tony was a trained service animal, and he tended to only act like that with people who were exhibiting signs of panic or worry. Maybe there was more to that ‘lunatic’ thing than just a gimmick. Mick held the door open for the four of them, relieved to see that the kids at least weren’t waiting right at the entryway. 

Len walked up to them, his cane gripped in one hand. He didn’t quite smile, but he wasn’t mad. 

“Hello. My name is Leonard Snart. Welcome.”

“Thank you so much for letting us stay at your home. It’s absolutely beautiful.”

That seemed to get Roman on Len’s good side. Mick grinned and leaned against the door, waiting for Len to do his thing. 

“Before you get comfortable, there are rules.”

Roman, Dean, and Seth’s backs all straightened, and Mick and Finn glanced at each other. It was a good sign, on their part. 

“First off, this is a sober household. No alcohol. Marijuana is permitted, but no other drugs that haven’t been prescribed. Second, we try to keep volume to a minimum. No yelling or screaming unless it’s an emergency. There will be no throwing things, or breaking things, or slamming doors. And most importantly-”

Len stepped closer to the three men, standing at his full height, only an inch shorter than Roman, and made sure to stare into all three of their eyes.

“-if you lay one violent or ill-willed hand on us, Finn, or any of our children, you will not be leaving this property alive.”

Mick could see that the three men were taut with tension all over their bodies, and he smirked. Len was so good at this. He watched as Len relaxed and smiled, his kitty-kat grin once again returning.

“Now that that’s out of the way, you’re free to any of the guest rooms, which are on the first and second floors. Any food we have is free to you as well, though we do make breakfast and dinner every day if you’d like to join us for that. We do occasionally have people drop by, don’t be alarmed if you see random people walking through. Mm...let me think if there’s anything else…”

“Dad! Let us meet them!”

Len shut his eyes and smiled and Mick laughed.

“Would you guys, uh….mind signing some stuff for the kids? They’re fans.”

The three men looked at Mick, still a little high-strung because of Len’s warning, but Roman smiled.

“Absolutely, we’d love to.”

Finn grabbed Seth’s hand and led him to the living room. 

“C’mon, I’ll introduce you to all my cousins-”

“I thought Mick was your cousin?”

“It’s shorthand in the family-”

Mick and Len followed the four of them into the living room, all of their kids that were in the home currently-apart from Coral, who was in bed already-standing ready with things for the boys to sign. Mick sat in his big recliner, Len settling onto his lap as they watched. 

“Seth, Dean, Roman, this is Lapis, Basima, Tahmid, Adi, Enku, and Opal. Most of Mick and Len’s kids.”

“Most of?”

“Michael is at his own apartment, Rada and Brighid are away at school, and Coral is asleep.”

Mick laughed as he saw Dean counting on his fingers, his blue eyes going wide.

“You have ten kids?”

“I should hope so, my body damn well feels like I’ve given birth nine times.”

Finn quietly told his friends about how one child was adopted, and Roman smiled at the kids, sitting on the couch. 

“Hi, guys. Your dads said you were fans of us, our little trio, and wanted us to sign some things?”

“Yes, please, if you’re up to it.”

Roman smiled again, clearly happy to do it, and Seth sat on the other side of the couch, Dean sitting on the floor near Roman. 

“I think we’d all love to.”

Mick was happy that the kids were well-behaved in the midst of their excitement, and the three men were good with them. He did feel a little tense as Adi sat in front of Dean. Most people were unsure of how to communicate with his son, given that he was a very particular sort of non-verbal. He knew Len was wary, too, and he rubbed at Len’s knee. Dean leaned down a little more, blinking his big eyes at Adi.

“Hi.”

Adi handed Dean an action figure of Dean, and touched the face of the toy before reaching up and touching Dean’s nose. 

“Yeah, I know. You think they got the nose right?”

Adi shook his head. 

“Me neither. They never capture me just right, you know?”

Adi touched Dean’s nose again and then his buzzed-short hair. 

“You like the haircut? I know it’s a big change.”

Adi nodded, pulling one of Dean’s hands to his own head.

“You thinking about getting a chop?”

Adi nodded, and Dean smiled, looking….very sweet, in a way that surprised Mick. The whole interaction had, really. Very few people clicked with Adi because of the supposed communication barrier, but that barrier didn’t seem to exist with his son and Dean. Mick looked to Len, who was watching the whole thing with narrowed eyes. It wasn’t a look of malice, just Len thinking.

Roman seemed to be discussing hair-care routines with Lapis and Basima, while Finn and Seth talked to Tahmid and Enku and Opal, until Len cleared his throat. 

“Kids, I think it’s about time for you to get to bed. These boys have had a long day, I’m sure they’d like to get some rest.”

The kids said good night to everyone, and Roman, Dean, and Seth all said good night to them, Dean fist-bumping Adi before the kids went upstairs. Dean made his way up onto the couch, curling up next to Roman, making Seth move a little closer to Finn in the process. Mick held Len around his waist, resting his head against his husband’s shoulder. 

“Your kids’re pretty cool.”

Dean’s voice was quiet, but honest. Mick looked at him, the way he was pressed against Roman, Tony sitting at Dean’s feet. 

“Everything about us is  _ cool _ , Deano.”

Mick could already feel the trouble building between those two, the masters of snark that they are. Seth was leaning on Finn, eyes drooping before he yawned. 

“Uh-much as I’d love to get to know you guys more-”

“Are you alright?”

Finn had gently covered Seth’s hand with his own, looking concerned. And completely in love. 

“Just tired. Wanna show me to my room?”

A deep pink flush came to Finn’s cheeks.

“We could share, if you’d like.”

Roman stretched his arms, wrapping one tight around Dean’s shoulders. 

“Think we’re gonna turn in, too. Y’all said there was a room down here?”

“Mhm. Next to the study, by the laundry room. Not too hard to find.”

Roman and Dean headed off to the room with their things, hand in hand, while Finn and Seth stood. Finn came over to Mick and Len, kissing them on the cheek and saying good night before leading a smiling and sleepy Seth Rollins upstairs. Mick sighed and rolled his shoulders, Len moving to straddle him. Mick grinned, moving his hands to Len’s hips. 

“Hey, kitty.”

“Hey.”

“What d’you think of ‘em?”

“They seem alright. Handsome, too.”

Mick hummed, slipping his arms around Len’s waist. 

“Dean did good with Adi.”

“I noticed. Think they got some stuff in common?”

“Think so. Was nice, to see him connect with someone.”

“Wanna head upstairs?”

Len groaned, leaning forward and pressing his face against Mick’s neck.

“Please, yes.”

“Want me to carry you?”

“I would love that, baby.”

Mick gripped Len’s thighs and stood, easily and happily carrying him up the flights of stairs to the top floor.

\---

“Is Dean...arguing with the goats?”

Mick came up behind Len and looked out the glass door. Dean did seem to be having a very intent conversation with one of the goats, one of the baby goats held in his arms. Roman was standing to the side, smiling and shaking his head. 

“Finn, you got any idea what’s up with him?”

“Hm? Oh, Dean? He likes to talk to animals sometimes.”

Mick shrugged. 

“Makes sense.”

He watched as one of the goats headbutted Dean on the ass, the redhead jumping a little and frowning at the goat. Their guests had been there for about a day and a half, and the three new men had settled in well. Dean, especially, seemed to love being there, surrounded by nature and animals as they were. All four of them greatly enjoyed the expansive gym in the basement, and Seth begrudgingly tolerated Mick making fun of him for being a crossfit enthusiast. Len sighed and walked outside.

“Stop yelling at the damn goats, it makes them yell too!”

“Tell your goats to leave me alone!”

Possibly the only downside to this visit was that all three of the Shield boys and Finn were masters of snark, which Len took as a personal challenge. Mick watched as Len and Dean argued, Roman quietly wandering off. Mick tilted his head, stepping outside and following him. He ended up in the stables, standing in front of Heatwave’s stall, admiring the mare. She was even letting him pet her.

“You a fan of horses?”

Roman jumped, obviously having thought he was alone. 

“Oh-uh-yeah, actually. Never really got to be around them much, but...I don’t know. I think they’re beautiful animals.”

He petted Heatwave again, smiling and shaking his head.

“I, uh. I actually wore trunks with a horse’s head on the ass for a while.”

Mick laughed and came up to the stall, Heatwave nickering at him. He patted her on her face.

“She’s named after you?”

“Yeah. We used all our-you know, supervillain names for the horses. Or superhero, got Vibe and The Flash over in the other stall.”

“What-”

Roman shut his mouth before he finished his sentence, and Mick leaned against the door of the stall.

“What?”

“I just-I didn’t know if it was alright to ask-”

“Oh. Wondering about the supervillain thing?”

Roman shrugged and made a face.

“Yeah, kinda?”

“Ask away, kid.”

Roman pulled his hair out of the tie it was in, nervously putting it back up in a bun. 

“Uh-I guess...what...made you guys get into that?”

“Got a problem with it?”

Roman sighed, leaning against a post.

“Not really, if I’m honest. I mean-when Finn told us who you were, I read up on you guys, and...you guys have never really done anything I disagree with, other than-a couple of murders. Can’t say I’m a fan of that.”

“We worked hard not to. Me and Len don’t take any pleasure in that shit. Unless it’s a nazi or something, I love killin’ nazis.”

Roman smiled, tilting his head at Mick.

“I think that’s a good exception to the rule. But-I mean-you guys clearly...had the capacity to-do other things, why did-what made you guys pick that path?”

Mick sighed. 

“Lot of moving parts to that, Roman. I guess...it just made sense. We love money. We love causing some chaos. It gave me a chance to get out my urges, with fire, and we didn’t wanna get dragged into all the shit the heroes get dragged into-I mean, shit, B-the Flash has aged like six years in the past two cause of what’s been going on.”

Roman nodded. He honestly didn’t seem judgemental or freaked out or angry, just as though he wanted to understand their decisions. 

“Do you regret it, at all?”

Mick shook his head.

“Not a bit. This life gave me Len, except for-there was a short period-but I wouldn’t trade what I’ve done for anything.”

Roman nodded again, and he bit his lip.

“I know I’m gonna sound like such a dick, but...can I ask about the burns?”

Mick didn’t even feel offended or angry about it. Anyone who saw-anyone-asked about them. He was used to it. 

“Oh, man. That was...a shitty year, mostly. I got-caught up in the flames, I guess, cause-I’m a pyromaniac before an arsonist, and one night-it was so beautiful, and perfect, and I-just couldn’t pull myself out of it. Len did, actually. But-yeah. Over half my body. I’m burnt up all over.”

Roman was quiet and expressionless as he listened.

“Is...how do you manage giving into the urge?”

Mick narrowed his eyes.

“What do you mean?”

“To-burn stuff. I-how do you...do it, and not let it go too far?”

Roman was staring at the ground, his fingers fidgeting at the hem of his shirt. 

“Roman, are you-”   
“Hey, Rome-Rome I lost the goats finally and I think Len is gonna send the dogs after me-”

Dean came running in, not graceful at all and very quickly, slipping on the floor a little. Roman easily caught him, his face brightening immediately. 

“Don’t worry, I ain’t letting no dogs get you, baby.”

Dean grinned and wrapped his arms around Roman’s neck. 

“My hero!”   
Mick smiled, but kept an eye on Roman. He’d have to get back to that later.

\---

Finn blushed as Seth slipped his hand in Finn’s. It was gentle, and warm, and Finn tried not to smile too widely.

“This place is so beautiful.”

“It really is. You should see the Fourth of July party.”

Seth turned his head to look at Finn, smiling softly, and Finn felt a swelling in his core. He always did, when Seth looked at him like that. They were taking a walk around the property, in the early evening, two of the dogs walking with them. One of the cows had followed them for a short period before Mick ran out and herded it back. 

“I’d like that, to see that. I like being here….with you.”

Finn blushed again, and Seth squeezed his hand. They kept walking, talking occasionally, sometimes just letting the sounds of nature take over. It was so peaceful, the exact kind of peaceful that Finn craved. He led Seth to the little pond in the pasture that the cows and horses often made their way to, and he grinned at the sight of the treehouse, sat in a sprawling oak tree near the pond. 

“C’mon.”

He pulled Seth to the treehouse and helped him climb up, Seth tumbling onto him a little and both of them laughing. Finn stood and stretched-the treehouse was massive, and he walked over to the little ladder in the corner. He looked back at Seth to make sure he was following him, and he was, and Finn climbed up to the little roof deck. Mick and Len had really gone all-out on this thing. Finn sat on the edge, letting his feet hang off of it. Seth nervously sat next to him, holding onto Finn’s arm. 

“We’re not that high up, Seth.”

“I-I know, but-still a little nervous.”

Finn giggled and held Seth’s hand where it was gripping his bicep.

“I’ll keep you safe, don’t worry.”

Finn watched, enraptured a bit, as Seth blushed and pressed closer to him.

“I know you will.”

They both were quiet, watching the sunset, Seth leaning on Finn’s shoulder. 


End file.
